A Breath of Fresh Air
by ManhattanMisery
Summary: Eva had a shitty life in the city, working for a company she couldn't stand in a position she really couldn't stand. So, after getting herself fired, she finds that old envelope her grandfather gave her when she was eleven...what is the worst that could happen?
1. Chapter 1

I woke up to the sun shining through the blinds that I _SWORE_ I closed last night. I let out a groan and pulled my pillow in front of my face, not wanting to face the day just yet. I wasn't ready to face today, but then again I wasn't ready to face yesterday either. For that matter, I wasn't ready to face the day before that either. Today was just going to be so much _worse_.

On that delightful note, I sat up and started my day.

I groggily made my way to the kitchen, running my fingers through my bed head as I did so. My older brother Drake was making breakfast already, and in a rather chippy mood. Normally, I would try to smile and laugh and get into it with him. It's not often he has good days, and I'm proud of him. Really, I am. I think the therapy is helping him a lot, and that honestly makes me happier than I've been in so long. I just can't do it today.

"Hey sis, how'd you - " he looked up from his breakfast and saw me, stopping mid sentence when he did. I must have looked pissed off.

"I slept fine, thanks. You?" I walked over to the toaster and put two prices of bread in before leaning against the counter.

"That's all you're gonna eat? Are you sure? You're kinda skinny Eva..." I closed my eyes and sighed. Classic Drake, always worrying about me even though I'm a grown woman.

"I'm fine, really. I'm used to eating small breakfasts. Not to mention I have to mentally prepare for hell," I let out a small yawn and stretched. In that moment my toast popped up, and I'm sad to admit that I screamed at the top of my lungs, causing my brother to almost fall out of his chair laughing.

"Ha ha, very funny. Don't make me remind you of prom," I said as I grabbed my toast and sat down. As soon as I mentioned prom, Drake stopped laughing and put on a serious face. I mentally did a little evil laugh in my mind. Prom would never be forgotten, never ever.

After eating my breakfast I made the journey back into my room and put on my shitty secretary uniform, also known as a short as hell pencil skirt and some type of dress shirt for girls that I never learned the name of. I don't even know why I had to wear this thing, considering the only reason it was a thing was because my boss wanted to take it _off_ …

I shudder at the thought. My boss was banging his past three secretaries, and decided I would be his fourth when his last one got knocked up, so he had her sent to a different office. After all, he was a married man. As someone who has met his wife, I'm here to tell you that she doesn't deserve it.

 _Fucking prick._

After pulling a brush through my hair, I gave myself a quick once over in the mirror. Same weird slightly curly black hair, same greyish eyes, same pale complection, same me, basically. I was nothing special, and I liked it that way. I didn't attract to much attention, and I didn't want it.

I waved goodbye to Drake, wishing him luck at therapy before getting the subway to work. It was a little to crowded for my taste, but my office has fucking horrible parking, and the subway station is right across the street from the building, so win win.

Plus, I honestly don't wanna pay to park my car. I'm not cheap, I just wanna move out of that apartment.

Don't get me wrong, I love my brother. More than anything in the entire world. Growing up, he was all I had. I just don't want to stop him from having a life. He could get married, have a few kids. I mean, I would have to approve of her first, because there are bitches in this world and they aren't getting close enough to my brother to touch him with a five foot pole. He's been through to much as it is, and I'm not letting him go through heartbreak.

As someone who's suffered it, I plan on keeping everyone I love away from it.

Walking into the office, everyone seemed...grumpier than normal.

 _Oh yeah, dickhead is back. That explains so much. He had been out of the state, doing 'business'._

 _Business was probably a hooker named Bambi._

I giggle at my own inner thoughts. I could never understand the entire Bambi thing, because if memory serves me right, Bambi was a male deer. I feel like our hookers should be better educated, no?

"Ms. Cain, may I ask what is so funny?"

Even his voice makes me want to be sick.

"Nothing, just remembered a joke from earlier," I gave my fakest smile as I look up from my computer, trying to meet his gaze.

"Well, you should know that your amazing co-workers are throwing me a welcome back party at lunch, and I would love it if you attended rather than do whatever it is you do at lunch," he gave me a smile back, and Yoba, it felt like the fucking devil smiling at me.

"Sure," I respond, and thank goodness the phone rang. I hold up my finger in a 'one second' gesture and answer it, glad I was finally out of that conversation.

By the time lunch time had came, everyone was gathering around my desk, and none of them looked like they planned this. Fucker must have planned it himself. Wow.

My boss came out of his office and started to mingle, while I sat at my desk, playing with my phone. I wasn't exactly the most social person in the world.

"Eva, come on. Mingle!" Sara had suddenly shown up at the party, and wanted me to be social. Wonderful. My boss gave me a look that said to do it, so I sighed and did so.

Ha, the best and worst thing I had ever done.

As I walked by my boss, who was standing next to my desk, he decided it would be a _wonderful_ idea to smack my butt.

Ha.

Ha.

Ha.

He dies now.

I grabbed his wrist and dragged him into his office and shut the door, and I looked at it for a few seconds trying to figure out how the fuck I'm going to do this.

When I turned to face him, I'm 99.9% sure the piece of shit was trying to take his pants off.

 _Oh SHIT, he thinks I wanna fuck him._

 _SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT FUCK SHITTTTT._

So, instead of being an adult and facing my problems, I screamed and got the fuck outta there.

I was suddenly in the middle of all of my coworkers, and I realized the wife was here too. God damn it.

A few seconds later my boss left his office and gave me a look.

"Don't fucking give me that look you fucking weirdo," I said a little louder than normal. Everyone was here. Time to embarrass the fuck outta this piece of shit.

"Ever since I have become your secratery you have wanted one thing, and one thing only. And you know what?! I have had enough! I'm not some office slut who you can get knocked up like Stacy, nor will I be sucking you're bloody cock like Anna, and for the love of Yoba, control your dick!" I screamed that last sentence at the top of my lungs, before taking off my name tag, throwing it (and making sure it hit him in the face) and storming out.

Welp, I just quit my job.

Cool beans.


	2. Chapter 2

My brother walked in the door at around 5:15, five hours after I had basically told my boss to get his dick fixed, come home, changed into my favorite sweats and overgrown tee.

"Oh hey, you're home early!" He said with a bright smile on his face. I normally got home around ten, since I was one of the few that always got roped into overtime, and the subways always seem to be running late. Not to mention I was walking home from the nearest subway station, and I took a longer way home just to be on the safer side.

"Yeah," I wasn't about to tell him about my day, not yet anyways. "How was work and therapy?"

"Both were good, I really think that having someone to talk to about the PTSD really helps." He said as his eyes found the ground. He was still somewhat embarrassed about the PTSD, even though he had been told it was normal so many times. It doesn't surprise me, honestly. It's probably normal for those who have it to be embarrassed. We all have issues, sure, but my brother has issues I can't even begin to pretend to understand.

"Hey," I get off the couch and walk over to my brother, pulling him into a hug. Hugs are the best thing ever in my opinion, and nobody will ever convince me of anything otherwise. "It's okay. You aren't perfect, but you never were. This is just another quirk, it makes you, well you." I smile before walking into the kitchen.

"Prepare your soul, I'm cooking dinner!"

After dinner I decided I was gonna tell Drake about quitting my job. He needed to know eventually, since we split the rent here.

"I uh...I quit my job today, but I'm pretty sure I can also be considered fired because of how I did it," I said with a little smile. I was proud of that, yes. I wouldn't deny it. When it comes to being mature, it's never something I've mastered. The only thing I can say to explain it is the fact I never really got to be a child.

"What did you do?"

After telling Drake exactly what I did and said, he was laughing his ass off. I ended up laughing with him somewhat, because I mean...I made a guy think I wanted to sleep with him, realized it, freaked the fuck out mentally, and then screamed and left the room.

I am great at adulting, I must admit.

After our laugh fest was over, we decided to try to figure out what I could do. I was never one to sit around and do nothing, since I got bored rather quickly.

"Why don't you try to be a photographer again? I mean…I know it didn't end well last time, but you have real talent in it Eva."

I let out a groan and shrink back into the couch. "Considering what happened last time, I'm still not sure I'm ready to take that leap again. Besides, I doubt my old camera even works. It's been shoved in my drawer for the entire year I've been here."

"Might as well give it a shot," he gave me a grin when he said that. One way to gain my respect was though puns. "If it doesn't, there's a camera shop in the city I see you eye up every single time we drive by it."

I give him a glare, still hating the fact he notices things that most people wouldn't. I guess that came with the PTSD, but I could have missed that skill rear its ugly head in the seven years I was gone, too.

I walk into my room and begin the search for my camera. It was under some summer stuff mixed with spring stuff. I saw my particular white tank top and light plaid jacket and smiled.

Soon.

I grabbed the camera and noticed something was tucked under it.

Grandpa's letter. Holy shit, I forgot about this. The memories all came back though.

 _"There will come a day when you feel crushed by the burden of modern life… and your bright spirit will fade before a growing emptiness. When that happens, my dear, you'll be ready for this gift. Now let grandpa rest…" "There will come a day when you feel crushed by the burden of modern life…and you're bright spirit will fade before a growing emptiness. When that happens, my dear, you'll be ready for this gift. Now let grandpa rest…"_

Well, could I consider myself crushed by modern life? I mean, life is bad…but it's been worse before. I have a roof over my head and a family member who loves me. Then again…it has a wax seal on it. I've always wanted to open one of those, and I had been missing grandpa recently. Now that I was thinking about family again, I thought about him very often.

I grabbed the letter and camera and returned to my brother in our living room. "Look what I found, an old letter from grandpa," I said with a smile as I sat down.

"I bet you it's glitter," Drake said with a grin.

"Drake come on, it's not a shit ton of glitter. Grandpa was an old man, I doubt he was playing with glitter."

"Open it and prove it, then. I bet it's fucking glitter. Grandpa was the modern day troll and you know it!"

"Only to you," I said with a laugh. "But if you insist. I mean, he said to open this when I feel crushed with the burden of modern life..."

"My glitter theory is sounding more and more accurate…"

I gave him a look, and he just mumbled under his breath. I laughed and opened the envelope, and sure enough no glitter came out.

"I told you," I said as I pulled the papers out. "Grandpa was only a dick to you because you were easy to mess with. He loved you, but the temptation was to high. Hell, it was to high for me when I put cinnamon in your shampoo."

Drake's eyes went wide with shock, then he just looked generally pissed off. "You bitch! I knew it was fucking you, I knew it!"

"Love you too," I said as I pulled out the first page and began reading.

 _Dear Eva_

 _If you're reading this, you must be in dire need of a change._

 _The same thing happened to me, long ago, I'd lost sight of what mattered most in life...real connections with other people and nature. So I dropped everything and moved to the place I truly belong._

 _I've enclosed the deed to that place...It's located in Stardew Valley, on the southern coast. It's the perfect place to start your new life._

 _This was my most precious gift of all, and now it's yours. I know you'll honor the family name, my dear. Good luck._

 _Love, Grandpa_

 _P.S. If Lewis is still alive say hi to the old guy for me, will ya?_

 _ **Holy shit.**_

I grabbed the other page and sure enough, it was a deed to the farm. The very farm I used to run away to when times got tough at home.

"Drake, do you remember Grandpa's farm?"

"Grandpa had a farm?"

 _Well, that answers that._

Drake had never been allowed to go to the farm, and quite frankly neither was I. My step mother was never really into the rustic life, so she kept Drake away from it. Me? I went anyways, it was better than dealing with the constant insults and never feeling like I was good enough.

"Yes! In Stardew Valley!"

"What the fuck is a Stardew?" My brother asked as he looked at me, deep in thought. Clearly he thought I would know, and I honestly had no fucking clue. Just because I had just graduated an online college course in English, doesn't mean I know everything.

"What the fuck is a Zuzu?" It was all I could think of as a counter. I had never really considered Zuzu city's name, and now I felt rather stupid for not considering it in all the time I had lived here. "Anyways, Grandpa had a farm. Supposedly, it's mine now."

"No way, let me see. I bet he's trolling you," I handed my brother the deed to the property and he sucked in a breath. "Okay, so he's not trolling you."

"Nope."

The awkward silence slowly overtook us.

"You're going, aren't you?"

The question shocked me, honestly. I hadn't even considered going yet, I was still in so much shock I could hardly think about how to stand, let alone thinking about moving. Was I even cut out for the farm life? I mean, I had nothing against nature. I used to wander around woods in my free time when I was living in Maine and worked in the bar. Those six months were the best of my life in a way, somewhat. I just… Being a farmer meant I had to have some form of green thumb, and that was something I never seemed to possess. Well, when it came to food anyways.

When I was about thirteen, I started liking plants more than I should have, honestly. I started growing Bamboo and an orchid in my room, and I kept them alive pretty well. That was as far as my farming ability went, honestly. Putting an ice-cube or two in a plant once a week, and just dumping bamboo in water with rocks was a lot different than actually farming.

"I… I don't know, Drake. One minute I was going to get back into photography and the next I'm gonna be some farm person. I mean, I've always wanted a goat but I don't think I could actually manage one," I said softly before I looked at the ground. This was… a lot to think about, and after today my brain was already shattered.

"I'll think about it for a few days, and get back to you."

* * *

I had decided in the next two days that I was gonna move out to the Valley. When I told Drake I could actually see the worry on his face, and it mentally killed me inside. I still couldn't blame him for it, though. I would be worried if I was him too.

"This isn't like the last time I left," I said with a smile. He didn't seem to exactly believe me, and I couldn't blame him.

"Okay Eva," He smiled at me and if I didn't know him as well as I did, I may have believed it was real and sincere. To bad I could see right through it.

Everything was packed and ready to go by the end of winter, but I wanted to stay for Christmas. It was important for me to be here for the holiday, and in between the time I would babysit some kids in the complex. I loved kids, and hey, watching Christmas movies and making gingerbread houses all day was fun for me. I sucked at them, but the kids I watched did pretty good.

* * *

The drive to the valley was about three hours long, the bus driver seemed to hit every single fucking bump ever, but goddamn, was it worth it. Getting off the bus with Drake, I swear I could hear a pin drop. There was no obnoxiously loud car horns honking, no obnoxious people screaming and yelling at one another.

The air felt clean, in a way. It felt weird, but I liked it.

I got interrupted when I heard a voice.

"Oh! Are you the new farmer?"


	3. CallaLilly Farm

"Uh, yeah, I am…" I look up and my eyes meet a red haired woman with brown eyes. She was wearing an orange-yellow shirt, with a light vest over it, along with simple jeans and shoes. I noticed she seemed to have…woodchips on her. She must be some sort of woodworker. She seemed nice enough, but I still had no idea who she was other than what she possibly does for a living. "Who are you?"

She smiled and extended her hand. "I'm Robin, the local carpenter. Mayor Lewis sent me here to fetch you and show you the way to your new home. He's there already, tidying things up for your arrival," I gave a small nod, and in that moment she noticed Drake, who was watching a squirrel while all this went on. I swear, he was awkwarder than me sometimes.

"Oh! Is this your husband?"

For fucks sake…

I may be sick right here.

"Oh, Yoba no!" We both objected to that in about a second, maybe less. "I'm just here to assist in the moving in," Drake said with a shrug. I don't know why he acted like I asked him to be here, when he was the one who said I could use the help. I think he just wanted to see the place maybe, considering he was never allowed here. Hell, if Meridith found out he was here now she would probably complain.

"Oh my, I'm so sorry! I just assumed, nobody in town knows anything about you other than the fact you're John's granddaughter. Anyways, the farm's right over here, if you two will follow me." I glanced at Drake and followed her, leaving the moving van behind. He locked it when we got out anyways, so it's not like anyone could steal it.

We walked for about ten minutes and the farm came into view. We made some small talk as we walked, but nothing interesting really. I wasn't one to try to make conversation and neither was Drake. We mostly kept to ourselves. I was always like this, but Drake wasn't as keen with strangers as he was before the war.

"This is CallLilly farm," Robin said with a smile as she looked around.

"Named after your mom," Drake said suddenly.

Yeah, I remember Grandpa telling me that he wanted to just name it Lilly farm, but he felt CallaLilly would fit better.

The farmhouse was nice, I honestly loved it. It looked like one of those cabins in the woods you would see in movies, and it just made me smile. I remember one Christmas I spent here, laying on the floor watching movies and laughing and being able to be myself.

I looked over to the actual land, however, and it was overgrown to hell. Grass growing out of everywhere, trees growing randomly, rocks and logs lay on the ground along with other types of weeds. Thirteen years had certainly taken it's toll, and it was honestly worrisome. Could I actually manage this? I mean, I didn't mind clearing the land, but this was a lot…Did I make a mistake doing this? Could I even actually chop a tree down without it falling on me and crushing me? Was I even strong enough myself to chop a tree? I had never tried.

"What's the matter?" I was pulled out of my thoughts by Robin, looking at me with a face of concern. "Sure, it's a bit overgrown, but there's some good soil underneath that mess! With a little dedication you'll have it cleaned up in no time!" She honestly sounded like she believed in me, believed that I could do this.

She shouldn't get her hopes up, honestly. I can hardly walk, let alone chop trees. That was really starting to worry me.

"What even is good soil? Does it just… stay when you tell it to? Or does it rollover too?" Drake finally spoke up again, and this time he was grinning. I wonder how long he had been waiting to use a pun like that.

Robin seemed to love it, she laughed as if it was the funnest thing she had heard all day.

Jokes aside, we walked to the farmhouse, and I think the idea was to like show us inside, but that didn't really happen as an older man walked outside. He had gray hair and a matching mustache, blue eyes, and was wearing a newsboy cap, a green shirt with a semi matching yellow tie, and suspenders. I honestly had no idea that suspenders were still being made.

"Ah! The new farmer!" Being called a farmer was so weird. It felt like I was back at Joja in a way, being called a secretary when I was a developer. It didn't fit me, and I felt the word farmer didn't really fit me either. I would get used to it, I hope. "Welcome! I'm Lewis, Mayor of Pelican Town. You know, everyone's been asking about you. It's not everyday that someone new moves in. It's quite a big deal!"

Me and Drake glanced at one another, and I could tell we were both thinking the same exact thing; How small is this town exactly? I only remembered the cottage, not the actual town itself.

"So… You're moving into your grandfather's old cottage. It's a good house, very 'rustic'." He looked at the cottage in awe, like he wouldn't mind living in it.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot!

"Oh! Mayor, my Grandfather told me to say hi to you," I cringe at how awkward that sounded. "Before he died, obviously…"

"Oh! That's nice of him. Anyway, you must be tired from the long journey. You should get some rest, unpack. Tomorrow you ought to explore the town a bit and introduce yourself," Oh Yoba, he was gonna make me be social? Introduce myself to everyone in town? I mean, it seems to be a pretty small town, but I can hardly get a sentence out right normally if I know the person!

"The townspeople would appreciate that." He handed me a list of names and I mentally swore. Fuck, I don't think I really have a choice. Well, I mean, maybe if I'm weird enough they won't bother me? I don't know.

Lewis gave a smile and walked away, but before he vanished out of sight he turned back to us. "Well…Good luck!" With that Robin gave a small wave and left as well, so it was just me and Drake again.

"Here lies Eva, beloved sister and daughter. A tree took her away from us…" Drake was snickering next to me.

I reached over and smacked him on the shoulder. "Shut up Drake," I said before walking to the moving van. "Are you gonna help me unpack and move in, or are you gonna be a mega bum?"

Drake decided against being a mega bum, and by around seven pm we had all of my stuff in the cabin, but not all of the boxes emptied. I was hungry at that point, and I'm sure Drake was too. I walked over to my fridge and opened it, finding nothing in it. Shocker, honestly.

"Hey, before you leave, you wanna grab some dinner or something? There's probably a fast food joint in town or something," I closed the fridge and looked over at Drake, who was watching Tv.

"Sure, I guess. After that I gotta head home though, okay?"

I sigh and walk over to Drake, pulling him into a hug. "It's gonna be so weird being so far away from each other again," I said under my breath.

"Yeah, guess so," He said simply. Oh, that was not the best wording…

"Drake, I'm not leaving for seven years again. We're still gonna talk and see each other. I promise," I knew my leaving had bothered him, sure. When I called him that first time after all those years he actually cried along with me. I figured it was because he thought I was dead, but it was because he missed me. It took me so long to realize that, honestly. Sometimes I am fucking stupid. He deserves better, honestly.

So, turns out, this town doesn't have a fast food joint, but it has a bar that serves food. Walking in, it was nothing like the bar I used to work at. There was a jukebox in the corner, playing a quirky little tune. There wasn't many people here, maybe five or six people. One of them being the Mayor. I gave a small little wave to him. He seemed to be on a date with a woman I had yet to meet. Eh, there's a time for everything.

A blue haired woman walked up to us and smiled. "Hi! You're the new famer, yes? Ooh, I can see it on your face! You're going to love it here in Pelican Town! I'm Emily, you are?" She seemed nice enough, but I didn't know what she saw on my face other than starvation and random locks of hair that I just couldn't control for my life.

"I'm Eva, and this is my brother Drake," I pointed at Drake, who gave a wave.

"It's nice to meet you two!" She smiled, and then seemed to remember she was at work. "Oh yeah! Do you guys want anything?"

I turned and looked at Drake. "Pizza sound good?"

"The health freak goes bad…" He said with a laugh. I was always the healthy one out of us, with Drake just eating whatever he could find and myself always trying to watch what I ate. I also liked cooking with spices and such more, as sometimes when the parents were jetsetting around the world and the maid left I had to cook for us, as Drake couldn't use a stove. We managed, and I in turn got good at cooking.

After introducing myself to the bartender and a few others in the bar, I grinned. I saw him for the first time, standing in the corner and seeming like he was hoping nobody noticed him except for the bartender.

I actually debated about going and annoying the guy, I really did. He didn't wanna be bothered, and we all had those days. Hell, I had those days every single day basically before I quit. I grinned, the part of me that decided I could try to make him laugh winning. I tapped on Drake's shoulder and pointed at the guy, and Drake caught on right away.

"Eva no, leave the poor guy alone."

"Eva yes, go make the poor guys day better with the best joke of all fucking time? Will do," I smiled and got up, making my way over to him.

I mean, don't get me wrong. My sense of humor is weird at best, with most of my jokes being about the 80's, or they were your typical immature sex jokes with a random video game reference thrown in there. However, this joke was different. This joke was great, however. Anyone could get it, and it was just pure gold.

Getting closer to him, I could see what he looked like a little better. Black hair like my own, stubble, and some color of eyes I couldn't tell as he seemed to be staring into his cup as if he was waiting for it to do something. Maybe it was magical beer and it would spell something out? Could that be what the dude was waiting for? What would the beer even use to spell, it wasn't the canned vegetable soup.

I let out a sigh, I really need to improve my focus skills.

"What did the father buffalo say when his son went off to school?"

"What?" He looked up at me, and I noticed he had dark green eyes. He looked even more tired up close, and a pang of guilt ate at me somewhat. Maybe I should have left him alone.

This joke is really great though. At least I think so.

"Bison." I smiled, and meanwhile, he gave me a look like I had ten heads.

"Are you on crack?"

Oh.

"No, I am not on crack. I was just introducing myself, as the mayor told me. I have said hi to so many people today, and honestly I am bored as hell at this point. So you got to be my test dummy, plus you looked like you needed a pick me up."

"Fuck off," he said before taking another sip his glass.

Oh, so he wants to be a dick? Alright then. I can totally be a bigger dick, he can fight me.

"Shove a cactus dildo up your asshole," I said before turning to walk away. His voice stopped me, however.

"Did you just…"

"Yes, yes I did."

"Not enough beer in the world…" He muttered before going back to his drink. I just smiled and walked away, because come on, deep down he had to think that joke was funny. That was like… the only joke I had. I didn't come up with it but still.

I made my way back over to Drake, who had finished eating at this point.

"Hey, I'm gonna head home. Take care of yourself okay? Call me if anything goes wrong, or you have any of those nightmares, of you just need your big brother to kick anyones ass for you," I saw him glance at the guy in the corner and laughed. Clearly, my brother had no idea how you handled people with sticks up their ass'. Beating their ass would just shove it up there further.

Plus, I didn't need my older brother looking after me. I was, after all, a grown adult. I stole another quick hug from Drake, because again, hugs are never a bad thing. He hugged me back before leaving the bar and leaving me alone.

 _Yoba...Please, please, let him be okay…_


End file.
